Russia’s help to Italy in struggling with the coronavirus does not imply any response measures of Rome, including the veto on extension of anti-Russian sanctions by the European Union, presidential press secretary, Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Monday.

"No, this is unrelated absolutely," Peskov said. "Any conditions, reckonings or hopes whatsoever are out of the question here," he added.

Italy needs help "of a much wider scale," the spokesperson said. "What Russia is doing is the help commensurate with its ability," TASS quoted Peskov as saying.

Contacts with France

The Kremlin has so far received no requests for assistance from France to fight the spread of the novel coronavirus, the Kremlin spokesman replied when asked whether Paris asked for assistance similar to the aid provided to Italy.

Peskov noted that Russian-French contacts were maintained at the operational level, including through diplomatic channels, so he may not have all the information. "At the moment, <…> I know nothing about any formal requests from our French friends," he stated.